PowerShell Fundamentals for Beginners

Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. We are getting closer by the minute to Windows PowerShell Saturday #003 in Atlanta—just two more days, and you, too, can listen to our guest blogger at the event. For today, he talks about Windows PowerShell Fundamentals for Beginners. If you have not registered, there is still time, just go to www.powershellsaturday.com/003.

Mike F Robbins is a Senior Systems Engineer with almost 20 years of experience as IT pro who currently works for a healthcare company located in Meridian, MS. He’s a Windows PowerShell enthusiast who uses Windows PowerShell on a daily basis to administer Windows Server, Hyper-V, SQL Server, Exchange, SharePoint, Active Directory, Terminal Services, EqualLogic Storage Area Networks, and Backup Exec. He is an MCITP and three-time MCSE (Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 Server, and Windows Server 2003). Mike blogs at http://mikefrobbins.com and can be found on twitter @mikefrobbins.

Here’s Mike …

This coming Saturday, October 27, I’ll be speaking at Windows PowerShell Saturday #003 in Alpharetta, GA, which is a northern suburb of Atlanta. Whether you’re an IT pro or developer, this technology event is something that you can’t afford to miss because Windows PowerShell IS where Microsoft is going for the administration of its products, and if you’re not actively trying to learn Windows PowerShell, you’re soon going to be well behind the learning curve of the average IT pro or developer.

I attended Windows PowerShell Saturday #002 in Charlotte, NC, last month and, based on my experience at that event, you’ll receive an entire day’s worth of Windows PowerShell training from industry experts that rivals events that cost hundreds, or possibly even thousands, of dollars. There will be several different tracks to choose from that are about different aspects of Windows PowerShell and that are designed for people at different skill levels.

My session, titled “PowerShell Fundamentals for Beginners,” will start from zero, assess the skill level of the audience, and define what Windows PowerShell is, what it can do for you, and why you should care.

We’ll do a little Windows PowerShell cheerleading along the way through the dozen or fewer slides that I plan to cover that will go through what versions of Windows PowerShell can be installed on what operating systems; where the shortcuts are located; and how Windows PowerShell terms such as “cmdlets” are pronounced. Then, we’ll spend the remainder of the time demonstrating Windows PowerShell.

During the Windows PowerShell demonstration portion of my session, I’ll cover how to figure out what the commands are and what all these crazy square brackets in the syntax section of the help topics mean.

I’ll teach you a skill set, and with three simple Windows PowerShell commands, you’ll be able to discover what to do for yourself. We’ll discover objects, properties, and methods; how to connect commands together; how, where, and when to use filter, select, sort, and format cmdlets. We’ll cover some misconceptions about Windows PowerShell, such as thinking that Get-* cmdlets can’t be used to make system changes, and then we’ll use Windows PowerShell to create some Active Directory user accounts by reading data from a SQL Server database to use during the demonstration.

Finally, I’ll show you how to perform tasks such as disabling multiple Active Directory user accounts from anywhere in the world with a single line of Windows PowerShell by using any device that has a web browser.

Sound interesting? There are a limited number of tickets available for this technology event, so head on over to the official Windows PowerShell Saturday #003 web site to reserve a seat and find out more about the details of this awesome technology event: http://powershellsaturday.com/003/